Russia's import ban on agricultural goods from countries that sanctioned Moscow over the Ukraine crisis may have a negative impact on European producers, farmers say. However, the EU's ambassador to Moscow insists the bloc's position will not change. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed Wednesday a decree imposing a one-year ban on agricultural produce, foods, and raw materials from countrie [...]

The US dollar, the dominant global currency since 1944, may lose some of its luster due to the American-led sanctions against Russia over the turmoil in Ukraine. The greenback has been fading in favor since the global financial crisis in 2008. The US-led sanctions against Russia may have backfired on the US because it threatens to “hasten a move away from the dollar that’s been stirring sin [...]

Peter Schiff says two catalysts this week could send gold prices higher. Despite the constant drumbeat of geopolitical turmoil, gold, which investors often buy in times of uncertainty, has fallen 6 percent from its March highs. But even with the sell-off, bullion's biggest gold bug isn't throwing in the towel anytime soon. [...]

A six-day tour by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Latin America ended with a long anticipated creation of the BRICS bank and the signing of energy agreements, as Russia looks to build alliances to counter Western influence. The Latin America tour started with the visit to Cuba, where Putin signed a new agreement on oil exploration in Caribbean waters which contain most of the estimated 124 mil [...]

America’s public debt will rise to 106 percent of GDP in the next 25 years, a level seen just once in US history - just after World War II, the US Congressional Budget Office (CBO) warned. US debt has skyrocketed to over $17 trillion, and is now about 74 percent of total gross domestic product, the CBO said on Tuesday. [...]

There is neither real criticism from German politicians, nor any visible efforts to return German gold held in the US, so it seems that US controls Germany, economic analyst Michael Mross told RT. In one of its recent reports Bloomberg claimed that Germany decided not to repatriate its gold reserves from the US, instead the Bundesbank issued an official statement that underscores it’s "trust" in [...]

Shanghai is considered to be the frontrunner between Russia, China, India and South Africa to become home to the new BRICS bank, media reports. The bank is an attempt by emerging economies to challenge the US-based global lending institutions. Four of the BRICS countries – China, Russia, India and South Africa [...]

Americans avoiding US taxes and stashing cash abroad are in trouble from July 1, when a new law forces institutions hiding money to report on their clients. The law will make business with Americans harder, but the US hopes it will raise billions. The US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA, comes into force on July 1 and requires foreign banks to hand over data on clients to the US Intern [...]

Total US debt soars to nearly $60 trn, foreshadows new recession! The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis released the current data for the total debt in the United States Economy on June 5, 2014 — All Sectors; Credit Market Instruments; Liability, Level (TCMDO). While people, companies, and governments blamed bad weather for a dismal showing in economic activity, it appears they had little troubl [...]

The European Central Bank lowered its deposit rate to -0.10% as the continent battles deflation after many failed monetary policy attempts. The European Central Bank cut its main refinancing rate to 0.15 percent from 0.25 percent, and the deposit rate from zero to -.10 percent, the first time the ECB has seen a negative rate and the first time a major central bank has crossed the zero threshold. [...]

The "€œPower of Siberia"€ is much more than a 30 year Sino-Russian gas/pipeline deal. Paying for the process accelerates the vogue to reduce dollar pricing. That, not the energy supply, will become the most acute threat to US economic hegemony. [...]

Moscow and Beijing have rejected the imposition of sanctions as political tools and condemned attempts at "encouraging and financing"€ regime changes in other countries in a joint statement released during President Putin'€™s official visit to China. [...]

VTB, Russia'€™s second biggest lender, has signed a deal with Bank of China, which includes an agreement to pay each other in domestic currencies. “Under the agreement, the banks plan to develop their partnership in a number of areas, including cooperation on ruble and renminbi settlements, investment banking, inter-bank lending, trade finance and capital-markets transactions,” says the offi [...]

Is the United States a strong nation? There's a notion that it is, of course -- based mainly on the disruptive philosophical underpinnings upon which this country was established. But these are all really the fumes of nostalgia. What else is there? W... [...]

Who would have thought a unitary superpower on Earth would accelerate a return to regionalism in place of globalization? For all those who deem ‘Financial Innovation’ to be an oxymoron, that brilliant invention the credit card springs to mind. [...]

United States taxpayers make large interest payments to the top four technology firms for the $163 billion in US government debt the companies own and shelter in tax-free offshore accounts. United States taxpayers make large interest payments to the top four technology firms for the $163 billion in US government debt the companies own and shelter in tax-free offshore accounts. [...]

China has outpaced India in terms of gold consumption in 2013, with people there increasingly investing in the precious metal, according to the Thomson Reuters GFMS Gold Survey. The influential report says Chinese demand increased by 32 percent within a year, reaching 1,189.8 tons in 2013, which marks a fivefold increase since 2003, says the Financial Times. [...]

Monday 23 December marks the 100th Anniversary of the creation of the Federal Reserve System - the Central Bank of the United States of America. The mainstream media are keeping remarkably quiet about this key milestone. [...]

Russia continues its gold buying spree, adding 0.3 tonnes to its 996.4 tonne stockpile, marking a nine month increase, according to the IMF’s June statistics report. [...]